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Theater Rehearsals: What Executive Presenters Must Know Part 2 of 5: Run Through

Published

Warwick

on May 7, 2010

in Memory, You the Presenter and presenter

. 0 Comments

To see Step 1, click here.

Step 2: Run Through

With an outline in hand it’s time to have a run through. This should be rehearsed until the content is memorized. Find blocks of rehearsal time. Instead of going to a restaurant at lunch, grab a sandwich and take a walk in the park. While walking around, talk through the presentation without looking at notes. Speak it out while driving into work, or book a meeting room to practice the delivery. The key here is that it should be spoken aloud as new ideas will arise while the delivery becomes smoother. Don’t use a computer or any slides at this point. The aim is to be 100% comfortable with the flow and content.

This is the step often overlooked by business presenters. Master this step and you will be confident that you know your content forwards and backwards.

Executive Presence: Memorize your content with taglines

Writing taglines that are memorable

RESOURCE BOX

Warwick John Fahy is the international executive speech coach for senior executives, business leaders and entrepreneurs who need to influence clients, investors, shareholders and team members. His highly practical approach and deep cross cultural intelligence have made him a sought-after business presentation coach throughout the world.

Warwick is the author of the acclaimed book, The One Minute Presenter - 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. For free executive speaking tips visit http://www.oneminutepresenter.com/blog

To arrange presentation skills training or coaching to build your executive presence visit this web site.

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Theater Rehearsals: What Executive Presenters Must Know Part 1 of 5: Script Read Through

Published

Warwick

on May 5, 2010

in You the Presenter

. 4 Comments

One of the most common excuses that executives use before they deliver presentations is that they are not prepared: The board of directors are filling up the meeting room before the annual strategy review session. The financial director comes up and says he doesn’t think he is prepared for the presentation. What impact does this have on his credibility? Business presenters often spend hours preparing PowerPoint slides only to deliver a low-energy dull presentation in front of the people who will be deciding their promotion prospects later in the day. Executives can learn from the theater world. Over the next few blogs we have five steps to guarantee a winning presentation.

Step 1: Script read through

At the start of rehearsals, actors read through their scripts, first alone, and then with the other actors. Script mastery is just the first step in their performance preparation. Most business presenters struggle to get to this step, often unable to have a coherent presentation on the day of delivery. The presentation must have a clear overall message, and the content clearly separated into distinctly different ideas. An opening that sets the context and engages the audiences by addressing their most pressing concerns. A body that divides the content into separate sections or to use a theater word “scenes”. A closing that brings all the content together into a clear outcome, reinforces the overall message and moves the audiences into the next part of the meeting, often the question and answer session. An important tip to remember is that at this stage the script or outline does not need to be perfect. There is still opportunity to modify during the next steps.

RESOURCE BOX

To arrange presentation skills training or coaching to build your executive presence visit this web site.

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Product Launch like an Executive - Memorable product launches Part 3

Published

Warwick

on May 1, 2010

in Deliver with Style, Finish on Time, You the Presenter and presenter

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In part three of this three part look at product launches, we will build on “Less is More” as featured in Part 1 here and Taglines in Part 2.

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

One of the most overlooked part of a presentation preparation is the rehearsal. Most presenters think making a slide deck is enough. Or silently clicking through slides. While others may deliver it out aloud while alone in the office. Any rehearsal is good rehearsal, but the best type is putting yourself in the actual same situation that you will face on the day.

Jobs is a role model as he conducts live on-stage rehearsals to ensure every aspect is thought through from start until finish. He is known for putting in hours at a time in the days leading up to the big day. This has helped create a culture of presentation prowess in Apple that showed in the launches that were given by Job’s colleagues in his absence due to surgery. Are you a role-model for presenting in your company?

Allocate one whole day before your next big presentation and spend the day rehearsing in a live environment with your slides, projector, and clicker ideally on the actually stage that you will deliver the product launch. If there is a question and answer section in your presentation, rehearse that too by inviting your team members to fire questions at you from the floor. Time spent in live rehearsal will show when you deliver with style on the day.
Make sure you don’t sell your next product short by cutting corners on the big presentation launch. Investing time to deliver a visually stimulating, tagline-rich message will allow all your stakeholders to walk away with an easy-to-remember message. A good presentation can then be passed onto your sales team to use in front of key accounts and helps your marketing team push a consistent powerful message through your usual marketing channels. An added benefit will be that your high standards of presentation preparation will trickle down to your team members.

RESOURCE BOX

To arrange presentation skills training or coaching to build your executive presence visit this web site.

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Product Launch like an Executive - Memorable product launches with taglines Part 2

Published

Warwick

on April 26, 2010

in Connection and produce your message

. 1 Comment

In part two of this three part look at product launches, we will build on “Less is More” as featured in Part 1 here.

Tagline with word pictures

While pictures help to make a presentation more memorable, having a tagline can push recall even higher. A tagline is a one line description which sums up your key message. For example, the MacBook Air was described as “the world’s thinnest notebook”. You may not remember all the technical specifications but you if you remember the tagline, you understand why the product is special. And let’s face it, if you are really interested in the tech spec, visit the product’s web site.

Every product and service can use this approach. When 37signals launched their project management online software, Basecamp, their tagline was “the better way to get projects done.” Taglines are simple and easy to pass on to your clients, sales team and media.

While a good headline tagline will help your audience remembers your product uniqueness, you can add word pictures to other parts of your content. This turns your presentation into a more visual one. At the iPod launch, Jobs described it as ‘the size of a deck of cards.” This was accompanied by a picture of a deck of cards. This word-picture is much more memorable than giving the dimensions of the product as many technical presentations tend to do. Look for ways to highly key features and benefits with word pictures and taglines.

RESOURCE BOX

To arrange presentation skills training or coaching to build your executive presence visit this web site.

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Product Launch like an Executive - Memorable product launches Part 1

Published

Warwick

on April 18, 2010

in Attention spans, Memory and Visual presentations

. 2 Comments

New product launches can cost your company millions of dollars from concept to launch. While many companies use rigorous product development processes they often skimp on the most public aspect – the product launch presentation. As product life cycles shorten, tangible differences with competitor narrow and margins become wafer-thin, an impactful presentation pitch can make the difference in cutting through the noise to attract and engage with clients, shareholders and media.

We can all learn from the master of product launches over several decades – Mr Steve Jobs. As the face of Apple, Jobs has launched products since 1984 using a high stakes, high pressure keynote address to large audiences of stakeholders and media. Three key lessons we can learn from Jobs are less is more, tagline with word pictures and rehearse rehearse rehearse.

Less is More

A Jobs presentation is intended to inform, educate and entertain. While most presentations focus on the first two objectives, only by being entertaining can you keep the attention of your audience fully during a 30 or 40 minute presentation. One way Jobs achieves this is with a very visual approach. He once said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” In his presentations, he mainly uses pictures with key slogans. Think of many presentations you have sat through recently. Chances are they were very data and text heavy. In Brain Rules, Mr John Medina reported how new studies have shown that text only information have a very low recall (10%) while adding visuals can push retention up to 65%. We have all heard the expression, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ and now it’s been proved through these memory tests. Slides with thirty or forty words on it are not memorable. Let’s face it, you didn’t need a brain study to know this, did you? Take a look through your slide deck and see how many pictures you are using to express your message. Visit Slideshare.net to see a collection of visual presentations.

What else should a good product launch presentation have? Leave your comments and stay tuned for Part 2 shortly.

To arrange presentation skills training or coaching to build your executive presence visit this web site.

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Listen like an Executive – A three step process to improve your career progression

Published

Warwick

on April 15, 2010

in Connection, eye contact and rapport

. 0 Comments

The popular TV show House features a genius doctor whose abrasive manner clashes with patients. It’s great entertainment although it’s amazing House doesn’t get sued every week! In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell showed how doctors with poorer interpersonal skills got sued more than doctors who were liked by their patients. Spending an average of three minutes more with patients and engaging them with active listening was key to not being sued. Listening is a key skill that all executives can improve. It may be the difference between the next promotion and a frustrating performance review.

Poor listening is costing business

Every executive position needs “good communication skills”, but very few stipulate that “good listening skills” are essential to the position. The high cost of not listening in business is not easily measured. But ask any executive about the management issues they face on a daily basis and poor listening skills are often at the root: A key client is upset when their feedback is not acted upon by your service team and now they are re-evaluating your account. Despite a long executive meeting, the CEO’s key messages are not implemented. A high potential executive hands in her notice unexpectedly hinting at the poor communication skills of her manager. The list and cost to business goes on.

Active listening is the key

As Ernest Hemingway said, “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” The reason why listening is a weaker skill is clear. At school, we are taught to speak, read, and write but never to listen. Good listening is not passive, it requires a leader to concentrate on listening intently and not drift away with thoughts of their own, especially if they don’t agree with the speaker.

The purpose of active listening is to show respect to the speaker, understand how the speaker is feeling and finally what are the facts that they are conveying. Speaker, feelings and content in that order. Nothing is more flattering than listening with 100% of your attention. In a short attention span world, how many times have you been speaking to someone who is glancing at their computer screen, mobile device or watch? Your opinion of them goes down and your productivity often follows. Let’s see an easy three-step process you can follow.

The three-step listening process

Executives who rise to the very top are those who realize communication is their job, not only a skill needed as part of their job description. Successful leaders depend on strong relationships and relationships are built on clear communications. Active listening is an essential part of the puzzle.

Step 1 : Listen with all your attention

Active listening requires both non-verbal and verbal skills. Make eye-contact with the speaker, adjust your body position so that you are facing the speaker. This shows your attention is directed to the speaker. While listening, you can nod your head from time to time. These all show respect to the speaker.

Listening is not a one way street. After listening for a while, demonstrate your understanding by using phrases like:

“You feel that your contribution to the project has not been recognised…”

“It seems like you need a fresh challenge…”

“As I understand it, you sound frustrated with our current renummeration plan…”

“It appears as if you have a point. Let’s explore this further by…”

“If I hear you correctly, you’d like to attend an executive training workshop…”

Step 2: Pause before you speak

While you are listening, avoid the urge to interrupt or finish the speaker’s sentences.

Before you respond apply the motto, “Put your brain into gear before you put your mouth into motion”. Pause before you speak. Take a breathe. Count to three. Ensure that you are not talking over the speaker.

Step 3: Craft your reply

Before responding, ask yourself, “Is it worth it?” A question suggested by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith to help you think how the speaker will feel about your reply. A listener should not outshine the speaker. Don’t alienate the speaker with phrases like:

“I knew that already.”

“I never experienced that when I was in the sales division.”

“Sure I agree, but have you considered the other side.”

“I don’t agree. That’s just your opinion.”

Remember that a good listener’s concern is to understand the speaker’s feeling and point of view on a topic. Good listener’s will take these feeling on board, acknowledge them and before giving a reply, think about how the speaker will feel. Sometimes a good listener will only seek to understand, and not respond in the heat of the moment.

While listening is an under-rated skill, the ambitious executive uses it everyday. Polish your listening skills by acknowledging the speaker and their feelings while understanding the content. Good listener’s don’t interrupt and they carefully craft their response. Top executives realize that their listening skills are the hidden key to their success and further career progression.

RESOURCE BOX

To arrange presentation skills training or coaching to build your executive presence visit this web site.

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Good resource for senior executive interviews

Published

Warwick

on January 29, 2010

in Resources

. 0 Comments

A great resource for executive presentations can be found on CNBC’s web site under their video section. Regularly updated, it features short interviews with leading executives and commentators. Take a look at some very good and some not so impressive interview. Link to the video section here.

Are you an Executive? Learn how Warwick helps ambitious executives speak with executive presence here.

iPad product launch: What Makes Steve Jobs a Great Presenter?

Published

Warwick

on January 28, 2010

in Create Your Connection, Deliver with Style, Events, Visual presentations, interaction, presenter, produce your message and rapport

. 2 Comments

: The new iPad

by Rebecca Hong

Steve Jobs is my favorite presenter for his ability to get his message across so clearly and effectively. I love listening to his commencement speech in Stanford University entitled “Stay Hungry Stay Foolish”. This morning I listened to Steve’s iPad product launch presentation. Steve Jobs proves himself to be a great presenter again. I would like to evaluate his presentation from a presentation skills perspective. I won’t touch upon the technical side even though I am fully sold that iPad is a phenomenal gadget.

Let me tell you why I think Steve Jobs is a great presenter.

1. Well-designed Structure/Organization

A great presentation starts by having a well designed structure/organization. So let’s first look at the structure of his presentation; the opening, body and closing. Please pay special attention to some very good transitions in between points.

Opening

Steve Jobs first overviewed of the company status-mainly good news about product sales and the large customer base. Then he threw out a question: “Is there a 3rd category device between a smart phone and a laptop?” The answer is: iPad.

Body

Overview of what iPad can do.

Transition: “So that gives you a little overview of what the iPad can do, but it’s nothing like seeing it. So I’d like to show it to you now.”

Demo of what iPad can do.

- web surfing: New York Times, Buy movie tickets, National Geography

- emails

- photos

- calendar

- address book

- maps: Google Map

- video: Youtube, TV, movies,

II. Hardware features of iPad

III. 3rd party software features of iPad: App Store (presented by Scott Forstall, Apple Senior VP of iPod Software)

Demo of online game

Demos from several 3rd party software developers/content providers

IV. New App: iBooks (Steve Jobs back to present)

Overview

Demo

Transition: “Now, something very exciting: the iWork.”

V. App: iWork for iPad (presented by Phil Schiller, Sr VP Product Marketing)

Overview

Demo

- Keynote

- Pages

- Numbers

VI. Sync with iTunes (Steve Jobs back to present)

VII. Wireless networking in US and internationally

VIII. Pricing

First gave the product benefits: what iPad can do, Apps, iBook App, iWork App.

Then gave a price in pundits’ opinion: $999

Then shows the actual price: $499 and the more expensive models with higher capacity

IX. 3 Accessories

- a dock to view photos

- a key board dock

- a case for protection and serves as stand

X. Video of iPad

Closing

Echo the opening

Call for action: get your hands on it to feel it.

2. Subtle Salesmanship

Steve Jobs utilized this product launch opportunity not only to introduce the new product but also to persuade the audience to own it by adding many salesmanship lines. Let’s see how he made his sales pitch subtle but effective.

Example 1. After the demo of what the iPad can do, Steve said, “I have to say, though, watching it is nothing like getting it in your hands and feeling it right underneath your fingers.” This is to tell the audience that you need to own this gadget to really feel its charm.

Example 2. When it’s time to unveil the price of iPad, Steve first recapped the product benefits: what iPad can do, Apps, iBook App, iWork App. Then he didn’t tell the price right away. But to build some suspense and also contrast, he gave a price in pundits’ opinion: $999. Of course, the actual price is much lower: $499 for the most basic model and higher prices for other more advanced models. Here Steve used two skills. The first one is to mention benefits before the price so that buyers are reminded of the wonderful benefits of this product first and then are more likely to accept the price. The second skill Steve used is to give a higher price first and then the real lower price. This contrast of prices naturally makes the buyer feel the actual price is really low and it’s a great deal to get it at this price.

Example 3. At the end of the speech, Steve called for action to own this product. “So we’ve got a hands-on area next door, we’d like to get you to get your hands on an iPad because when you feel all this power, and this much fun and the internet in your hands, you will never want to go back.” This call to action is effective because it is not a hard sale. Rather it appeals to the emotions: the desire to feel, to have fun, and the need to try something cutting-edge.

3. Echo between the Opening and the Closing

When you first listen to the opening of the presentation, you might think that it seems a bit irrelevant to the main topic of this presentation, the iPad launch. But when you listen to the closing of the presentation, you will realize that actually the opening is well structured to serve as a set up for the closing. The opening’s main message of Apple having a massive customer base links to the closing message that this massive customer base is exactly the customer foundation for iPad and why iPad will take off strong in the market.

Let’s have a close look of how the opening and the closing echo with each other.

Opening: “Everybody uses a laptop or smart phone… Is there a room for the 3rd category of device in the middle? Something between a laptop and a smart phone?”

Closing: “So let’s go back to the beginning. Do we have what it takes to establish a 3rd category product, an awesome product that’s in between a laptop and a smart phone…We think we got the goods. We think we’ve done it.”

Opening: “A few weeks ago, we have sold our 25millionth iPod.”

Closing: “Because we’ve shipped over 75million iPhones and iTouchs, there are over 75 million people already know how to use the iPad.”

Opening: “A few weeks ago, we announced that a user downloaded the 3 billionth application from the App Store.”

Closing: “Users have downloaded 12 billion products from these stores (iTune, iApps and iBooks), so we are at scale and we are ready for the iPad.”

Opening: “We’d like to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and revolutionary product today.”

Closing: “Now the iPad, if you can sum it up, is our most advanced technology in a magical & revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.”

4. A Strong Tagline

A good speech, no matter how long or short it is, should be able to be crystallized into a sentence or even a phrase, which we call a tagline. Steve Jobs gave this iPad a clear and strong tagline:

“iPad is a truly magical and revolutionary product.”

(Short version, used in the opening)

“iPad our most advanced technology in a magical & revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.”

(Longer version, used in the closing)

This longer version tagline perfectly crystallized the features of iPad: advanced technology, magical, revolutionary and the affordable price.

However, I do have some recommendation to make this tagline stronger. The problem with the current tagline is that it puts the focus on the most advanced technology, which is too technical oriented. I would recommend to change it to focus on its emotional appeal:

“iPad is a truly magical & revolutionary device with our most advanced technology at an unbelievable price.”

(recommended tagline)

The changed version puts the emotional appeal of “a truly magical & revolutionary device” as the focus in this tagline to make it more user oriented rather than technology oriented.

5. Well Paced Speed and Great Use of Pauses

If there is one thing that differentiates Steve Jobs from other great speakers, it is his speaking speed. Steve’s speaking speed is about 100-120 words per minute while a normal English speaker’s speed is about 210 words per minute. This means Steve is 50% slower when he speaks. Why does Steve Jobs speak slowly? Because he enunciates each word clearly and he takes time to emphasize the key words and messages. The effect of his slow pace is that audience will feel very comfortable following him without being rushed or missing anything he said. As a result he gets his message across successfully.

Here is an example of how he uses pauses effectively. When he made the statement that “Now the iPad, if you can sum it up, is our most advanced technology in a magical & revolutionary device at an unbelievable price”, Steve puts three pauses in this sentence to let the audience hear and get the three features clearly:

“Now the iPad, if you can sum it up, is our most advanced technology [pause] in a magical & revolutionary device [pause] at an unbelievable price [pause].”

6. Beautiful Selection of Words

Listening to a speech with beautiful words is like listening to a masterpiece of music. Steve Jobs is one of the speakers who carefully selects his use of words. He uses many adjectives in his presentations and metaphors to create mental pictures in audience minds.

Example 1. “This is around 18 months since its inception, 3 billion applications from App Store.”

Example 2. “The e-book app. Amazon has done a great job of pioneering this functionality with Kindle and we are going to stand on their shoulders and go a little further.”

7. Show of Emotions

A good presenter connects with the audience on a personal level by expressing his own emotions. Steve Jobs is such a presenter. Here is a good example: “We just ended our holiday quarter, our 1st fiscal quarter of 2010, with $15.6 billions of revenue. I don’t even believe that!”

8. Repetition of Key Lines

Steve Jobs knows the power of repetition to strike his main messages in the audience minds. Here are two examples:

Example 1. “By revenue, Apple is the biggest mobile device company in the world now… Apple is the #1 mobile device company in the world.”

Example 2. “Now the iPad, if you can sum it up, is our most advanced technology in a magical & revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.” (repeated once)

9. One Message per Slide

In all Apple’s presentations, you will see what it means to have one message per slide. Besides, the most important message is put in bigger font while narratives in smaller font. Here is one example:

Sample slide:

50,000,000

Visitors last quarter

10. Never Forget to Promote the Company/Brand

Steve Jobs smartly utilized the product launch opportunity to promote the company and build up its Apple brand. Here are two examples.

Example 1. In the beginning of the presentation, Steve Jobs gave a positioning to Apple: “Apple is a mobile devices company. That’s what we do.” If you think Apple is just a digital appliance company, then after listening to this speech, you know that to be specific, Apple is a mobile devices company.

Example 2. At the end of the presentation, Steve Jobs reiterated the competitive advantage of Apple: “We’ve always tried to be at the crossroad of technology and liberal arts, to be able to get the best of the both.” This is what differentiates Apple from other technical companies.

So the above ten skills were demonstrated by Steve Jobs in his 1.5 hour iPad product launch presentation. Steve is a role model as a highly effective technical presenter. But only seeing is believing. So go to www.apple.com to see it with your own eyes and listen with your own ears.

Honda Tagline: “Everything we do goes into everything we do”

Published

Warwick

on January 5, 2010

in produce your message

. 0 Comments

Good example of how a tagline can work to wrap up an advertisment. Honda do a good job here with their visuals and the tagline sums up the whole one minute advertisment.

Writing taglines that are memorable

Published

Warwick

on December 14, 2009

in produce your message

. 0 Comments

I have written before about six word stories and today I saw an example of one from the Department for schools, children and families in the UK. They have launched a campaign on internet safety which intends to teach young children how to stay safe while using the internet. Their tagline is “Zip it. Block it. Flag it.”

My first impression was that it could be a little confusing. When I think of ‘zip’ in relation to computers my first thought is ‘zipping files’ so that they are compressed into a smaller file size. But then the target audience for this campaign might not have that perspective. “Zip it” in English slang means to be keep quiet and not disclose information .

So ‘zip it’ means do not give out any personal information. ‘Block it’ means use the blocking feature on social media sites or IM tools (like MSN). ‘Flag it’ means talk to a trusted adult if you are harassed online.

This tagline will not doubt be promoted heavily in schools and after a while will become a well-known catchphrase. The creators hope it will be about famous as the Green Cross Code.

What do you think? Will it stick or be quickly forgotten ?

The One Minute Presenter